Under the Cherry Trees
by Makami
Summary: Random pairings. Strange events. All romance.
1. 01

Eheh. I didn't even realize that this wasn't properly saved before uploading it... If this is your first time looking at it, you won't even know. Please ignore this part, then.

UtCT is a contest held by the Pita Ten fanfiction site known as "Angelic Tales". Actually, it's a series of contests, held every two weeks. I've promised everyone that I would write a story for every contest. I also wanted to post 'em up on here. Of course, AT has also expanded to include Kamichama Karin, so it will appear on here that I miss some of the stories. Go to the main site if you want to read everything.

**Under the Cherry Trees**

Fandom: Pita Ten  
Pairing: Kotarou/Koboshi  
Line: "Is that a monkey?"

"I hope Misha-san isn't going to be over, too."

Koboshi Uematsu sighed. It was not often that she got the chance to visit Kotarou's home, and being completely honest to herself, she would enjoy it the most if Misha was _not_ there. The pink-haired girl just frustrated her.

She always did.

But that hardly mattered.

Today was a special day. This was a date, even if neither of them had used that word when they agreed on it. A movie marathon. She felt grateful to Takashi Ayanokoji for setting it up. If it wasn't for his ability to make situations where Kotarou and herself could be alone, she wasn't sure that she wouldn't be able to stand Takashi's near-constant teasing as often as she did.

Koboshi sighed again. _I know that they're neighbors, but Misha-san just pushes it! She always does!_

Fuming, Koboshi just stood at Kotarou's door for a few moments. Normally she wouldn't have minded giving the door a little bang, but it was early, and more than likely Misha wasn't over just yet. If she hit the door too hard, then the girl would hear, and she would come over. That was a lot of "if"s to think about, but Koboshi knew that it had to be done. Otherwise, she could attract the one person that she didn't want around.

When she calmed down, she put her best smile on and knocked on the door. She knew that she was a little early, by maybe half an hour or so, so it was very possible that he was not awake yet. But whenever she thought of Kotarou in the mornings, he seemed to be awake. So he was probably a morning person. And if so, then he really was awake now.

Why was she making such a big deal out of it, anyways?

If he was awake, then he was awake. If not… Well, if he wasn't awake, there was no harm in standing out here for the rest of the time.

Strange noises came from the other side of the door: banging, shuffling, something hitting the ground, and the ever familiar "tee hee hee".

Koboshi's eye twitched.

Misha was there.

_Why's she here?_ Koboshi silently screamed. She forced the same, tight-lipped smile that she always wore when Misha was around at an inconvenient time, or when the girl was draped _all over_ Kotarou. _Why…?_

Koboshi had little time to find an answer when the door suddenly flung open. She barely had the time to jump back and out of the way.

"Aah!" she squeaked, startled. Breathing hard and safely out of the way, she placed a hand over her racing heart and stared at the one who had open the door so dramatically.

Of course. It was Misha.

"Tee hee hee. Suu," Misha laughed nervously. "Sorry, Koboshi-chan! Su!"

"Misha-san!" Koboshi forced herself not to scream at her. She was insane. She had to be. That, or trying to kill her. But before she could at least scold the girl on her wayward behavior in the hopes that something could be understood and done about it, something caught her eye.

"I… Is that a monkey?"

Along with the two bunny clips that Misha always wore hung a new hair accessory. It was brown, furry, and help a misshapen yellow object that Koboshi could only identify as a banana. What other brown and furry animal would be holding on to a banana?

If that was an animal… With Misha, she had come to know not to expect the obvious. Or normal.

"Yup yup! Su!" Misha chimed. She giggled again.

"Are you okay, Koboshi-chan?" Kotarou's concerned voice came from inside the apartment suddenly. He came into view and walked out. "I heard a scream…"

Koboshi blushed deeply.

"Uh… y-yeah. That was me…"

His eyes widened a little and filled with even more concern for her. "Are you alright?"

"Y-Yeah," she managed to choke out. She could feel her face burning. Just being around Kotarou got her flustered. When he acted like this, it made her even worse. "I'm okay."

"Good." He smiled a little at her.

"Kotarou-kun! Suu!" Misha squealed as she glomped him suddenly, as if she hadn't probably been with him all morning. The action sent them both tumbling to the ground.

"Misha-san!" Koboshi growled, back to her old self again. She proceeded to peel the girl off of him. "Get off of him! Misha-saaan!"

Misha suddenly let go, and Koboshi swore that she heard a _pop_.

"This is what you were talking about, right? Su?" Misha asked Kotarou. "Okay! Su! I'll see you later! Su! Bye, Koboshi-chan!"

With that, Misha disappeared into her own apartment.

_That was… pretty easy…_ Koboshi thought as she stared after her.

Kotarou sighed heavily as he pushed himself up to his feet.

"I just don't get that girl, angel or not," Koboshi sighed. "I thought she'd give us more of a problem before leaving."

"Ah, I explained to her that it was just going to be the two of us and that she shouldn't bother us," Kotarou said with a smile. "She said she understood."

"Oh… 'Kay."

At first, Koboshi didn't know what to make of his smile, but quickly it brought a flush out on her face. She squeaked and looked away. It was going to be "just the two of them", and he seemed happy about that.

"Ko-Kotarou-chan," she said softly. She began to smile back at him. That smile of his was cuter that any words could describe. She was sure that is was for her right now. But even if that wasn't true, that was what she wanted to believe. So she would.

_Kotarou-chan, I really, really like you,_ she told him in her mind as she smiled. Right now, she was too shy to say those words out loud. As much as she wanted to tell him, to tell the world, she was okay with it being her little secret.

For now.


	2. 02

Here is the second contest entry(ah, well, it seems like it slipped my mind. Eheheheh... I should have posted this back in June. I'm sorry for the delay; I only just realized it. In a few days' time, the most recent entry will be posted.

And, hey! If you're interested in seeing all of the entries(okay, there was only one, and that was from the most recent, but it's still something! -- along with the fact that I wrote a Kamichama Karin fic and such...), please go visit Angelic Tales! You can find a link for the message board in my profile.

Takashi/Misha  
"Hold on tight!"

**Under the Cherry Trees**

Somehow it always ended up this way, Kotarou getting so upset with her that he kicked her out of his apartment.

Though, usually Misha went straight home after the fact.

On this night, she simply stood outside his door, silently crying. Kotarou was getting more and more stressed out by his upcoming exams. Each and every day that passed he seemed to be getting a little grouchier with her. Nothing she did made any difference, other than to further annoy him. That, mixed with the growing pressure of her own angel exams, was starting to wear at her. For whatever reason, she could not bring herself to return home.

She wanted to go flying.

So she did.

She flew until she was completely exhausted.

With a small sigh, Misha lowered herself to the ground. She glanced around at her surroundings; she was in the park. How long had she gone flying for? Normally she could keep some sort of track of the time, but tonight she had been so distracted by her thoughts of Kotarou that she had forgotten to pay attention to it. And conveniently so, she had forgotten to put on a watch before she went to visit Kotarou.

She rubbed her wrist where her watch should have been.

"I'm such an idiot. Su…" she whimpered, slouching. "A no-good angel… suuu…"

"M-Mi… sha… Misha-san?" an all-too familiar voice gasped from behind her.

Misha's heart skipped a beat. She knew that voice. It belonged to Takashi Ayanokoji, one of Kotarou's closest friends. During the time that she had been around, she had become fairly good friends with him, as well. He never seemed to really mind her presence hanging around so much as Koboshi did.

Not to mention, he loved to flirt with the all the girls in small ways. On occasion, he would even flirt with her. He'd say, "hey there, cutie", or something to that effect. She had always thought nothing of it as it happened, but thinking back on it at that moment, it brought a smile to her face. Even if there was nothing behind it, and even though she was an angel, she was still female, and a stroke to her ego, even a small one, felt good.

"Tee hee hee hee hee… Suu…"

Misha laughed nervously as she turned around to face Takashi. The blonde was staring at her with wide, unblinking eyes. She rubbed the back of her head and frantically combed her mind for something to cover up what he had most likely just seen: her floating down from the sky thanks to a pair of wings.

"Misha-san," Takashi said softly. He slowly took a few steps towards her. "I… You… Those are…"

"Um… uhh…" Nothing helpful was coming to mind. For the life of her, Misha couldn't think of a single thing to say that could change the fact that he had seen her wings, that he had seen that she was an angel.

Her eye twitched a little, a nervous reaction.

Kotarou would be angry when he found that out.

_Ah, what the heck…_

"They're wings!" she proudly declared. "Angel wings!"

Takashi was silent for a moment as he stared at her. He looked as though he was trying to decide if he should believe her or not. His eyes searched her face, then traveled to the wings that she had not yet hidden. He just _stared_ at her for a long time.

Bubbling with nervous laughter, Misha bounced towards him. "Wanna touch 'em?"

He gasped a little, and inched back. Misha froze. The smile slipped off her face. Was he scared of her now? Was he afraid of what she was? Even though she was an angel, it was definitely unexpected to anyone, especially when they had thought that you were like them. She was different from him now. Officially. He now knew that she was not human.

He quickly recovered with a small smile.

"Angel wings, huh? An angel…" He looked thoughtful. "You're an angel?"

Misha hesitated, then nodded.

"Y-Yeah. Su…" she replied. She smiled somewhat nervously. "I'm an angel. Su."

Both fell silent again. Takashi looked thoughtful again, then slowly walked towards her. Misha held herself in place, and watched him. He stopped when he was mere inches away from her. His eyes were focused on her wings again.

"T-Ten-chan?" Misha asked questioningly.

He grinned. "You said I could touch them, right?"

Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she did not know why. It was just Takashi. This was only "Ten-chan" wanting to touch her wings to check if they were real.

Though…

Kotarou had never wanted to touch her wings before. He always got flustered, or angry. He wanted her to hide them. He never wanted to see them. It was as if he couldn't stand them.

Maybe he couldn't.

Her wings twitched and she was brought out of her thoughts as fingers gently ran over her wings. Takashi was smiling softly and running his fingers along the top of her wings, then down them and over the feathers.

"They're soft," he commented.

Misha felt her face heat up, and she looked away.

He chuckled.

"It figures that you're an angel," he said after a moment. He smiled at her.

"Hooee?" Misha tilted her head to the side.

"You really look like an angel," he told her, still smiling. "You look really beautiful right now, Misha-san."

She stared back at him, speechless.

Takashi blinked, and his eyes widened. "Crap," he hissed and glanced at his watch. "I'm late!"

"Late? Suu?" she blinked.

"I'm sorry, Misha-san! I'm in a rush!" he announced with a slightly panicked laugh. "My parents are gonna kill me…"

He turned his back to her, and she watched as he began to walk away. She smiled a little as an idea formed in her mind, and she ran up behind him.

"What--"

Before he could properly react, Misha locked her arms around his waist. She spread her wings out wide behind them, and flapped, lifting them up into the air.

"Hold on tight! Su!" she playfully laughed. "I'll take you home!"

"Misha-san? Whaa--"


	3. 03

Pita Ten  
**Rainy Day  
**_Misha x Takashi_

"Come in, come in," the young woman urged as she opened the door to her apartment. Smiling, she turned around to wait for the young man who had been following her. "Hurry up! It's cold out there! Suu!"

"Ah, y-yeah, Misha-san…" the young man replied as he entered the dark apartment.

Misha smiled softly as she shut the door behind him and locked it. After months of habit she instinctively reached over for the light switch and flicked it on. Immediately light flooded the hallway, revealing the young blonde who stood a few feet away from her.

Takashi had been the last person that Misha had been expecting to run into on the street, especially during school hours. As usual, she had been running between the middle school and the elementary school on her spare block when she had run into him. Literally. She hadn't been paying close attention to the world around her while she was running back to the middle school, and as she rounded the gate, she came around the corner too sharply and slammed into him.

She tripped over him. The force of the impact sent Takashi to the ground, too. They tumbled together, and somehow at the end of it all, she found the blond-haired preteen atop her. He blushed deeply as he scrambled off of her, mumbling incoherent apologies to her a few times over as he helped her to her feet. He refused to look at her. The whole time, she found herself giggling as if there was something actually funny about it.

Even now, she giggled a little.

"You're all wet, Ten-chan! Su!" Misha commented as she came up beside him. "Tee hee hee hee hee. Suu."

Just as soon as they had straightened themselves up, and she had convinced him to stop apologizing to her -- after all, it was her fault to begin with -- thunder boomed in the distance. A few moments later it began to rain hard. She had offered to walk him back to class, but he politely declined. So she asked him if he wanted to come over to her place. After all, from what she could see, something was bothering him. Why else would he be skipping class? If it was possible for her to, she wanted to help him.

"Ah, I… I'm sorry," Takashi apologized, offering her a shy smile. He ran a hand through his soaked hair, sending small rivulets or rainwater down his face. He brushed them away with his arm, which was somewhat problematic, since him arm was just as wet.

Misha waved her hand as If shooing the apology away from her.

"Don't worry. Su." Another laugh came from her. She was somewhat nervous about this; she had never been able to successfully help Kotarou out yet, so she was certain that she couldn't do this one right. Still, she never knew until she tried.

"I'll go get a towel for you," she offered as she wandered off. She smiled at him again, then turned the corner.

"Thank you, Misha-san," she heard him mumble after her.

Misha rushed to the closet that Shia kept all of the towels in. She rummaged through until she found a fluffy white one, then rushed back to Takashi. He was still standing in the same spot that she had left him in, staring off into space. He hadn't even realized that she had returned, even though he was facing her.

"Ten-chan," she playfully called out to him. He blinked and stared at her for a moment, looking somewhat confused as if he had forgotten where he was. "Here's! Suu!"

With only that moment's notice, she tossed the towel at him. Normally he would have caught it easily, but they predictably failed him this time and the towel smacked him in the face. He caught it as it fell towards the ground, then just continued to stare at her.

"I think I got some dry clothes for you to change into, too," she mentioned as she wandered away again. She heard his soft footsteps following after her.

"Misha-san…?" Takashi weakly called out to her.

She stopped, halfway between the front hall and her bedroom.

"Yeah? Su?"

He stared at her, again, with those distant eyes that told her that something was wrong.

"N-Nothing…"

She just smiled again and resumed heading to the bedroom.

_I wonder what's wrong with Ten-chan…_ she thought to herself as she began to search the bedroom for traces of clothing that might be suitable for him. She found something fairly easily, though it was only a t-shirt. She looked around hurriedly to find something else for him. The shirt was over-sized, but still… there had to be something else.

"Um… umm… Hooeee…" she whined to herself as she ran about the room. "Where are you?"

"If that's all you can find, I don't mind," Takashi's voice broke out suddenly.

Misha literally jumped.

She spun to face him, eyes wide, with the t-shirt bundled in her arms. He had the towel draped over his head and was drying one side of his face with a corner of it.

"R-Really?"

"Yeah. I don't mind."

"O-Okay."

She walked up to him and gave him the shirt.

He took the shirt, smiling a little. He stepped back and headed for the bathroom to change. Misha watched as he walked away. He seemed to be cheering up, If even just a little. But she couldn't be sure. It could have been an act.

_I'll get us some drinks,_ she decided, turning away and heading for the kitchen. She wandered in, her head off in it's own world. She found her way to the fridge and rummaged through it. She pulled out two cans of pop and shut the door.

"What was that in the fridge?"

"Eh?" Misha spun around, finding Takashi standing right behind her. He'd gotten changed and was in the t-shirt. It fell to his knees, making him look like a small child in his father's shirt. She smiled a little at that. "Huh?"

"That was a cake, right? Did Shia-san make it?"

"Ah, yeah. You wanna eat some? Su?" she offered.

He smiled at her. "Yeah, that would be nice."


	4. 04

**(Rainy Day -part two-)**

Misha smiled nervously at Takashi, as they stood facing one another in the kitchen. They had come in to escape the rainy and cold weather, but there was something about the way that he was acting that reminded Misha of being back out there. Everything about Takashi's reactions felt somewhat cold and automatic, as if he wasn't really there and that be didn't want to be there, but he just accepted that he had no choice but to be where he was.

"Y-You go wait in the living room. Okay? Su?" Misha stammered.

Takashi nodded and walked away without saying another word.

She stared after him for a long while, until the painful chill of the pop cans that were still in her hands brought her back to reality. She placed them atop the fridge and ran to the other side of the kitchen, where the dishes were kept in the shelves. She pulled out two plates and placed them down before she ran around the kitchen, getting utensils and cups gathered together, occasionally fumbling whatever it was that she happened to put in her hands. She was feeling a little nervous, and it was starting to show.

She ran to the fridge and pulled out the cake. She placed it down on the counter, near where she had gathered everything else, and reached for the knife. There were still a few hours left before Shia would be home, and more than likely, she guessed, Takashi would stay to see the kind hearted demon when she returned home, so she cut the cake into four large slices, and put two of the on the plates.

"Misha-san, do you need any help?" Takashi called out to her, sounding a little worried.

She couldn't blame him for sounding that worried. The dishes had been clattering and she'd dropped the forks when she placed them down. That, alongside her clumsy reputation -- who wouldn't be worried?

"Tee hee hee hee hee…" she tittered in response. "It's okay, it's okay. Su. Don't worry, Ten-chan!"

"Ah, okay," he answered, then fell silent.

Misha stood at the counter for a moment, her eyes cast downwards. Her hands slowly curled up into tight fists, and she resisted the urge to cry. She was a clumsy, useless angel, and she actually thought that she could help a human through one of their problems?

Sasha would tell her that it was about time. Misha couldn't remember how many times she had heard Sasha's "you can't focus on only one human" speech.

Maybe it was about time that she moved on, at least a little. She wouldn't give up on Kotarou, but rather, try she would try moving outwards. There really were other people than him in this realm that needed someone to lean against, to help guide them for a short amount of time. Takashi seemed like one of those people at the moment.

_It won't hurt to try… I already decided that I was gonna do this, didn't I? Ten-chan's a really good friend, and I want to help him… so why am I being silly?_ she asked herself. She closed her eyes for a moment, then reopened them. _I'm going to do it. Just like a real angel would!_

"Ten-chan!" she sang, picking up the plates with the cake on them. "Let's eat some cake! Su!"

She bounced out of the kitchen and headed for Takashi.

"Ten-chan!" she sang. She smiled at him.

Takashi sat on the floor, knees pulled up to his chest. The t-shirt that he was borrowing from her was pulled over his legs. He had head resting on his knees. He was shivering.

She frowned. How had she expected him to stay warm with only a thin t-shirt on? What had she been thinking?

"Ah, I'm sorry," she squeaked. "I'll go get you a blanket! Su!"

She dropped the plates onto the table in front of him.

"I'll be right back."

"Mi-Misha-san!" he called, grabbing her forearm before she could even turn around. "D-Don't… I'm okay. Just stay here with me, please."

"T-Ten-chan…?" she murmured.

He looked at her with pleading eyes, his grip on her arm tightening slightly.

"I…" She had no idea how to answer. She knew that it would be best to get him the blanket, but with the look that he was giving her, she found herself unable to leave him. "Alright. I'll stay with yas. Su."

He smiled faintly. She settled down beside him, unsure of what she was supposed to be doing.

"Misha-san, what do you think of me?" he asked her.

She glanced at him. "Um, what?"

"What do you think of me?" he repeated himself.

"Uh… well… You're really smart," she chirped, "and, you're really good at sports, too. Lots of people look up to you. And you're cute, too." She let out a small, nervous chuckle after that.

"Only that?"

"Um… oh… well, I… I think you must've worked really hard to get so good at those things," she said. "It takes lots of work to be the bestest. Su."

"I'm not the best," he grumbled, looking away.

"But you are!" she insisted. "Kotarou-kun always says that you're at the top of the class! And he always looks up to you 'n… stuff like that. Suu."

"Heh." Takashi was still facing away from her. "That guy… he just really gets on my nerves sometimes. He's got all these girls chasin' after him, and he doesn't see it. It's almost like he's sayin' 'I'm too beautiful for this' and just ignores them."

"Huh?" Misha blinked. What was Takashi going on about? Wasn't that an entirely different subject than the one that they were just talking about? Or, was that what was really bothering him?

"Um, T-Ten-chan? Su?" she questioned. "Did something happen at school today?"

He shook his head, "Naw. Nothin' out of the ordinary."

"Honya…?" She tiled her head to the side, confused.

Takashi turned to face her again, staring at her curiously.

"I've just been thinking."

"About what? Su?"

"He doesn't even see what he's got right in front of him…"

"Um… huh?"

Takashi pushed forward suddenly, and before she knew what was happening, she was being kissed.

She had no idea what to do.

* * *

Limiting myself while I wrote this, to 1,000 words, was nearly impossible. (Dx) I feel that so much was overlooked in it... I wanted to go so much deeper into the story and so forth. Actually, a good, straight-up Takashi/Misha fanfiction is what I really want to write. It's showing, isn't it? I keep writing them together. In any case, recently, for a few weeks, I began suffering from writer's block as I always do when I want to get to writing the very most. Heck, I'm still not even over it... but I'm trying. There will be a new UtCT release soon, though probably within the KCK fandom. 


	5. 05 Baked Chocolate

Hey guys! Ah, this was such a great one-shot to write! Especially because I love this pairing so, so, so much.

On a side note, this is based on a fanfiction that I want to write called "Guardian Angel". At this point Takashi'sparents have died, and Misha has become a "Guardian Angel", and Takashi is her current assignment.So, if you liked this little fic, please leave a review, because I'd like to know that I have some fans in advance for it.

**Baked Chocolate  
**Pita Ten

"You don't have to do this, you know," Takashi told her, sounding very exasperated.

Misha could only laugh in response. "Yeah, I know. Su."

She began giggling uncontrollably when she realized that she'd said "su". It had been years since the last time she'd actually used it.

Takashi stared at her as if she was crazy.

Calming down, she continued,

"I said I'd bake you something yummy and I don't plan on leaving until you have some!"

He fell silent. Misha smiled, feeling victorious.

"Shouldn't you, y' know, go see Kota-"

"No, no, nono, no," she cut him off, waggling her finger at him.

He stared at her again. He was beginning to look at little irritated with her now, though he didn't appear ready to say anything about it.

She quickly took the chance to close the space between them. She clasped his hands in hers, and pulled them to her chest. She gave him the brightest smile that she had and said,

"Kotarou-kun can wait. Right now I'm here with you. Su."

He blushed and looked away shyly.

She grinned.

"So, now you can sit down and relax," she told him.

"Uh, yeah…".

She let go of his hands, and he made his way over to the kitchen table. He sat down quietly and watched her.

Misha spun around and surveyed the entire kitchen. It was a near and tidy room - everything was where it belonged and there were no dirty dishes to be seen. It was the sort of "clean" that took years to master. She expected nothing less of someone as old as his grandmother.

"Do you want any help, Misha-san?" he offered.

She shook her head. "Nuh uh."

"But you don't even know where everything is," he retorted. "And I don't even know if we have everything you need for what you're making." He was silent for a moment. "What _are_ you making?"

She turned back to face him, still smiling.

"I'll make whatever you want."

A smile broke out on his face and he started laughing. "That's so… _like_ you, Misha-san."

She could only laugh along with him and rub the back of her head. She had never been the type to think ahead and plan things out. In fact, that kind of structure was the sort of thing that she loathed. It gave no room to be creative or for spontaneity. Doing everything at the spur of the moment, that was her style.

And she loved it.

"Well," she pressed, half singing as she spoke, "what would you like?"

Still smiling and shaking his head, Takashi stood up and walked around the kitchen. He poked his nose into each of the cabinets, the fridge, and even some of the drawers. She watched him silently, wondering what he was doing.

Finally he found whatever it was that he wanted in one of the drawers. He shifted through several of the papers in there before finally pulling one out.

"Here," he said as he held the paper out to her.

Misha took it and read the title that was written in black felt: **Walnut Brownies**.

"It looks like my Grandma was planning on making them anyway, so we have all of the ingredients."

Her eyes roamed over the rest of what was written before she nodded in agreement. The recipe was simple enough. She'd made things like this before. And besides, she'd promised to make anything that he asked for.

"You don't have to pick it just 'cause it's convenient. Su," she said.

He was silent for a moment, his eyes distant and staring at something she couldn't see. After what felt like an eternity, he finally blinked.

"It's alright… I really like them."

"I see, I see," she tittered. "Then these are the ones! I'll make 'em nice and yummy for ya! Su!"

He shook his head at her and began rummaging through the cabinets once more, this time to gather all of the ingredients together. He placed all of them on the nearest counter.

"Tee hee. Thank you," she giggled.

He shrugged. "Well… you're my guest. I can't let you do it all alone."

"Hehe, you're so sweet."

He sighed. "Thanks, I guess…"

She walked over to the counter, gently pushing him out of her way.

"I'll do this part myself, okay?" She smiled.

Another sigh escaped him. "Yeah, sure. Just don't burn the apartment down."

She laughed, not sure how to take the comment. Her clumsiness was definitely a reputation not easily left behind…

"I won't make any promises."

He looked uncomfortable for a moment, then his expression quickly warmed and he laughed with her.

Misha had learned how to bake when she lived with Shia. The kind hearted demon had always been cooking or baking things, and she always loved to be of help. After being granted the title of "Guardian" and returning to the Human Realm to do her work, baking was one of her favourite past times.

She'd even become good at it.

"You've changed," Takashi commented, "a lot."

"Is that a bad thing?" she asked absently, measuring out the cocoa.

"No, not really," he replied

They both fell back into silence. Misha was too consumed with mixing the batter to think of anything to say. Takashi just stood a few feet away from her, arms crossed, as he stared at the far wall.

"Yummy yummy brownie-sans," Misha sang as she popped the tray into the oven. "Suu."

She glanced over to Takashi and frowned at his distant expression.

"Takashi-kun," she called, "you're supposed to pay attention to your guest, aren't you?"

He didn't reply. He didn't move. He didn't even blink.

"_Takashi-kun_?"

He jumped that time. He turned his head slowly to stare at her. His expression was still distant, but now something more painful was creeping in.

"You know," he began, looking ready to cry, "my mother used to bake these for my dad. The morning he was gonna come home from his business trip, she'd bake some."

"Takashi-kun…"

He shook his head and covered his eyes with one hand, looking quite embarrassed.

"I'd get really excited. I loved her brownies, and Dad was coming home…"

"Takashi-kun," she repeated. She was at a loss for comforting words.

Frustrated with herself, she did the only thing she could do. She threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"Misha-san...!"

His body tensed at first, then slowly relaxed, accepting her embrace.

"It's alright to miss them," she cried.

His arms slowly slid around her waist and he held her tightly against his body. He was trembling.

Misha closed her eyes. "It's alright now, Takashi-kun."

* * *

I realized too many days later that the chapter was incomplete. I think it was an error with the file or something - I saved, I tell you!. The version on AT was complete. Actually, the document manager is giving me a lot of problems right now. Bleh.


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